I Favor the Villainess Chapter 27

"So, why is Claire-sama with you?"
"She asked to come no matter what"

Lene, who appeared at the agreed time, brought Claire-sama along.

"What will you make? I shall sample it"

Claire-sama in a dressing gown said so while stifling a yawn.
For an excellent, healthy child like Claire-sama it's long past the usual bedtime.

"Hey Lene. Didn't I tell you to keep it a secret from Claire-sama"
"I'm sorry. I couldn't deceive her"

We talked sneakily a little away from Claire-sama.
Well, after all I don't want my relationship with Blume to be known.

"Claire-sama, can you stay awake?"
"I am not a child, I can stay up late"
"Then, Claire-sama, please sit on that chair"

I provided the seat for Claire-sama.
I took off my jacket and covered Claire-sama who sat down with it.

"?"
"It may be spring, but it gets cold at night"
"… Hmph"

Although Claire-sama turned away displeased, it's still cold.
She didn't shake off my coat.

"Then let's start, Lene"
"Yup"
"Today we'll make a confection called crème brûlée. Lene can make pudding, right?"
"Yeah"

If that's the case, there shouldn't be any big failure.

"First of all, put milk and fresh cream into a small saucepan. Add a vanilla bean and put the saucepan on fire until it boils"

There's no problem if you put in the whole vanilla pod, but you can chop it a little

"So you also use fresh cream rather than just milk"
"Yup. It's a little different from the ordinary custard cream"

She noticed the difference right away, as expected of a long-time maid.

"Put egg yolks and sugar in another bowl, then mix them well with a whisk. Add the cream from the saucepan and mix further, then transfer to another bowl through a sieve. Then, bathe the bottom of the bowl in ice water to remove the heat"

I confirmed if Lene could follow the recipe until now, it's okay answer came back.
Lene is meticulously taking notes while cooking.
As an aside, paper is a valuable article in this word.
It should tell you how enthusiastic Lene is about this recipe.

"Pour it into ramekins and bake in an oven preheated to 100 degrees for around 70 minutes. Try swaying brûlée, it's baked when the insides get wobbly. To take care of its heat, if possible cool it in a refrigerator"

If you can follow this far, you can say brûlée is almost 80% completed.

"The ingredients are subtly different, but this is basically pudding, right?"
"Lene. The important part is from here. Look closely"

What's left is to make the caramel layer which is the essential part of crème brûlée, but in this world there should be nothing as convenient as a blow torch.
There's the option to use an oven, but there's an even better way.
I took out sugar and liquor.

"Just before eating, coat the surface with sugar evenly, moreover sprinkle it with alcohol. The alcohol should be the strongest you can find"

I took out a match and ignited it, then brought it close to brûlée's surface.
A flame rose.

"Fire, it caught fire!?"
"Please calm down, Claire-sama. This is a cooking technique called flambé"

I soothed the panicked Claire-sama.
Unexpectedly for a fire attribute magician, she's sensitive to fire.
Or perhaps, due to using fire, she might be well aware of how dreadful it is.

"Once it cools down, repeat that once again to make it more delicious. Afterwards, just let it cool and it's done"

I presented a ramekin to Claire-sama.

"Then Claire-sama, please try it. Lene, eat it too?"
"Tha, thank you for the food"
"Thanks for the food"

Having seen flambé, Claire-sama reached out the spoon nervously.
And, her spoon bounced back.

"The surface is stiff"
"It's caramel. Please cut it up with the spoon and eat together with the cream"

When Claire-sama carefully hit it with her spoon, the caramel layer broke easily.
She also scooped some cream and carried them to her mouth.

"! This is――!"
"Delicious! This is very delicious, Rei-chan!"
"I'm glad"

I tried a mouthful myself.
Yup, it came out passable.

"It's richer and moister than an ordinary pudding. The crispy surface is also delicious"
"I cannot get enough of this crispness. This finishing method… flambé was it? It attracts attention, it is an interesting dish"
"If Claire-sama used fire attribute magic, it would be good to broil it normally with fire"
"I would not think of making it myself. I will entrust cooking to Lene and you"

She's still a noble lady.
But, while spouting such abuse, she's immersed in eating like an ordinary girl.
Ah, how cute, damn.

"Lene, is there anything you don't understand?"
"Yup, I think it's fine. Thank you, Rei-chan"
"You're welcome. I'll also give you this"
"?"

I handed her a paper note.
Checking the contents, Lene made a surprised face.

"This is mayonnaise!"
"Shhh! Don't let Claire-sama notice"
"Is that fine?"
"Yup. But, don't make it until I allow it"
"?"

Lene made a puzzled expression.
It's understandable.
Even I wonder what I'm doing looking at it objectively.

"This is an insurance"
"An insurance?"
"You'll understand the meaning one day"
"… I don't understand well, but I'll treasure it"
"If possible, I'd like you to memorize it and dispose of the memo"
"Understood"

And incidentally, when our talk finished, Claire-sama finished her brûlée.

"I want to eat another one. Make it"
"Claire-sama. If you eat a lot of sweets in the middle of the night, you'll gain weight?"

Lene is completely right.

"Is one more not fine. I will restrain myself tomorrow"
"But…"
"Listen up, make it. This is an order"

At Claire-sama's display of selfishness, Lene lowered her eyebrows troubled.

"Isn't it fine, Lene"
"But, if Claire-sama's figure changed, I couldn't face master"
"It's okay once. If she is so inclined, we will do some night exercises in Claire-sama's room"
"We will not?"

Claire-sama's icy gaze was pleasant.

"Ah, you want to do it in my room?"
"I did not mean anything like that!"

It seems she understood what I meant.
Huh, Claire-sama does have some knowledge about sex.

"My, Lene. Consider it a practice, let's review it once more"
"I understand. Claire-sama, please eat lightly tomorrow, okay?"
"Never mind that, make it quickly"

And like this, we made another crème brûlée.
Lene's brûlée was done so skillfully it doesn't seem like today's her first time.
But, she burned herself a little during flambéeing.

"I'll heal you, please hold out your hand"
"This much is fine. There are ointments"
"I want to heal it"

Saying so, I took Lene's hand a little forcibly and healed the burn.

"Thank you"
"You don't need to thank me. Girls having burns on their fingers is unacceptable"

That's my aesthetics.
I'm glad to have the aptitude for water magic.

"… You are on good terms"

I didn't miss Claire-sama displeased mutter.

"Claire-sama is jealous! Ah, I'm troubled"
"You are wrong! Do not get carried away, commoner"
"Ara ara"

Like always, I teased her, Claire-sama criticized me, and Lene watched over us.
Trifling, yet happy everyday life.
I wished these days would continue forever.

Chapter end